The Senate chaplain and the shutdown

Here in the D.C. area, people are taking a deep breath after more than two weeks of government shutdown and coming perilously close to not raising the debt ceiling.

Religious leaders, including Sr. Simone Campbell of Nuns on the Bus fame, made their voices heard on Capitol Hill on Oct. 15 to decry the shutdown and demand a civil way of doing legislation.

But another religious figure, the Rev. Barry C. Black, minced no words as he communicated with God and senators at the same time. Black is the chaplain of the U.S. Senate, and his prayers opening each day's session got rare coverage, even in TheNew York Times.

I asked him why he did this: to be provocative? Scolding (as the Times would have it)? Why? His answer was simple: Prayer should be relevant to the situation. Most Americans, I daresay, would agree he achieved that goal.

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